Tree Programs for Preschoolers

Tree for Me (Storytelling Pieces)

Images are taken from Microsoft Clipart or Britannica Image Quest Database (http://quest.eb.com/) where pictures can be used for non-commercial, educational use.  Otherwise, a website citation accompanies them.

Gotta Move: Trees

The Color Green Storytimes for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Alligators and Crocodiles: One Toddler and One Preschool Program

Toddlers and Preschoolers : Playing with Books

For toddlers, we talked through the first and last book and acted out the emotions. We used magnetic letters as we counted during "One, Two I Love You." Is Everyone Ready for Fun? was a total, get-up-and-move-and-shout-it-out! kind of story ... my favorite ...



During the preschool program, we talked and acted a bit more. For example, we discovered that maybe we could have more than one feeling at a time like Elephant and Piggie. For Grumpy Bird, I had a stuffed animal for each child. They came to the front of the room when thier animal appeared on the page. I pointed to a sign that said "What are you doing?," and they child repeated this to my bird stuffed animal. Then we marched around the room until we came to the next animal. Lots of fun playing with books!

Baby Programs : Letters, Shapes, and Print Awareness

For the sitters, I used large, soft, magnetic letters to introduce "B-A-B-Y" and felt shapes to do the feltboard house. They were captivated by how I used my voice and moved the letters and pieces. For example, during the feltboard house, I modified the rhyme a bit to repeat the names of the shapes and allow me to let each child have an up close view of the shape: "Start with a square, a square, a square, a square, a square, a square right there!"



For the older babes, I had a soft, toy fire truck with the word "fire truck" stitched into the side. I went around to each child and pointed to the word. While reading My Car, I also went around the half circle, pointing to the word "gas" written in the illustrations.

Purple-icious Programs for Toddlers vs. Preschoolers (Narrative and Print Awareness)

For our extension activity with the preschoolers, I put a drop of red and a drop of blue paint (and a dash of hand sanitizer for easier clean up) in a ziplock bag and masking taped them to the (child-level) windows.

During the preschool program, I also made and used my first ever picture schedule. Graphics below:



The "Drawing Story" was me drawing to "Grandpa's Glasses" as I said the rhyme. The "Puppet Story" was for Purple Hair? I Don't Care ... each child got a velcro piece of the puppet and added to my plastic pot. In the end, the kids closed their eyes while I put together the dragon puppet.

Ugly Pie Magnetic Board Pieces

Art without a citation is from Microsoft Clipart.

Babies: Lapsitters (Play and Print Awareness Tip)

After much consideration, we've divided our baby program into "Lapsitters" and "Walkers."  With baby programs, I try to include four or five types of rhymes/songs from the following catageories:

clapping
nursery rhyme
tickle
diaper ditty
bounce/slide
name game
body parts/toy vocab
lullaby

I try to use visual aids for one or two of the rhymes and always present one board book.  In this case, I am doing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" as a sticky board story and am using a crow stuffed/sound making animal for the "Jump a Little Crow."

 

Below is the lapsitters program focusing on the play and print awareness early literacy skills.  It is also available to download from "Baby Programs" in the side bar on the right.

Songs and Sounds around the World Program for Families

Here is the outline with hyperlinks:



Here is the take-home handout:



Here is the downloadable text/signage for the Rapp Song:

Home, Sweet Home Storytime Progam for Preschoolers

Here's a home themed program for preschoolers -- a bit more substance and involvement (talking/detail) than the toddler program.  I like having the early literacy tips highlighted simply in the side bar.



The embedded PDF above is available for download by clicking on "Toddler, ages 2 and 3" under the "Youth Services Programs and Resources" heading in the upper right hand corner of this blog: http://librarieslearnlead.blogspot.com/

"Kye Kye Kule" lyrics and signs in the "Graphics" folder.

Stories to Share: Alligator's Whistle

I've started a new side bar ("Stories to Share") where I'll post the text (and later, the audio ...) of stories I tell or retell.

The sheet music for the "Alligator's Whistle" can be found in The Storytelling Handbook by Anne Pellowski.  I play a recorder during the musical sections.  However, one could also sing, as lyrics are provided in Pellowski's book:

The Microsoft clipart images are used as a visual prompt to remind me what gestures or visual props to use.  Sometime, I'd like to print the text on large poster board, probably in four sections.  Then, the audience could read the story at the same time ...

Toddlers: I Spy Eggs (Print Awareness)

I'm again changing the look of my programming handout.  I'm not associating an early literacy tip with each activity.  Instead I'm including only one to three tips so as not to overwhelm the caregiver.

Note that I am not referencing Easter eggs, but rather focusing on kinds of eggs -- what can hatch from them and what they can look like (naturally).

Click here if embedded documents don't load.

Toddlers: Lambs, Sheep, Cubs, and Lions (Vocabulary)

If the embedded programming handout does not display below, visit the upper right hand corner of this blog: http://librarieslearnlead.blogspot.com/. Under "Youth Services Programs and Resources," choose "Toddler, ages 2 and 3." Then choose "(2011 3) Lambs, Sheep, Cubs, and Lions (Vocabulary)."

 

Below are some graphics I put on display and used for the introduction of the program ... and some "new" words!  (They are available in the "Graphics" folder.) 

Baby Program: Point to Print

If the embedded image below does not display, visit the upper right hand corner of this blog. Under "Youth Services Programs and Resources," choose "Baby Programs, 6-23 mos." Then choose "(2011 3 3 Point to Print)."

To emphasize our goal, I had a poster of our first rhyme.  (I always have posters of the opening, middle, and closing song.)




I accompanied "Kangaroo Brown" with a double-sided sign showing "Jump" on one side and a Microsoft clipart picture of a brown kangaroo on the other side:





Before "one-on-one," I emphasized that the caregivers occasionally point to the printed words in the books, stating that this will help the child become ready to read.  I mentioned that though they aren't thinking of their child reading yet, these are the same tips (providing simple signs/labels in the environment) that I provide for caregivers who come in asking for help getting their five or six year old to read.